Of Mice and Shinra
by S.V.Heese
Summary: A short story about two shinra soldiers and there dreams. Inspired by John Stienbecks "Of Mice and Men".


****

Scott Vanheeswyk

Of Mice and Shinra

"Go on. Tell me again. Please, tell me about it again" said the huge man excitedly as he lay on the lower bed of the bunk. He rubbed his mammoth hands together and gleefully hit his head against the pillow. 

"All right, all right, I'll tell you for Christ's sake" replied the small man on the upper bunk. The small man dressed in a blue uniform sat up from his bunk.

"One day, us two are gonna get a small farm, just on the outskirts of Kalm" said the man.

"And, and what about the house, where we gonna sleep if we don't have a house" interrupted the large man rudely as he played with his hands excitedly.

"Ok, ok. I was getting on to that, just give me goddamn chance" replied the smaller man.

"Ok, I'll give you a goddamn chance" mimed the larger man.

"Huh. Ok, where gonna get a small farm on the outskirts of Kalm, with a little cottage, and a large fireplace for when it gets cold in the winter, and then..." he paused? He looked blankly at the wall, wondering, dreaming of what he would probably never have. 

"Go on, don't stop, tell me about the Chocobo's, and what I'm gonna feed them" said the big man.

"Erm, sorry. When we get our cottage where gonna get a chocobo..." 

"What colour chocobo?" Interrupted the large man.

"Whatever colour you want. And you can feed it green's, home grown one's" replied the smaller man. The conversation stopped. Both men lay silent, dreaming of a perfect life in the country. No worries.

Suddenly a tall man entered the room. His long beard overlapped his blue shirt.

"Fry, Grant, it's your time for duty" said the man in a deep croaky voice. The small man leaped from his bed, and then tapped the larger man on the shoulder.

"Get your ass up Fry" Whispered the small man. Both men lined up in front of the bearded man.

"Yes sir, ready and waiting sir" shouted the small man. The bearded man then turned to face Fry.

Fry looked blankly at the man then turned and looked down at his smaller companion. 

"Erm. He's ready" said the small man. The bearded man opened his eyes widely.

"Cant Fry speak for himself" he said.

"Yes of course he can sir, he's..."

"I don't really care. Just get your ass downstairs and sign out. You'll be working in Midgar, on street patrol" said the bearded man as he exited the room. The small man turned to Fry and sighed.

"Come on then Fry, lets get going before where late" said the small man.

"Ok Grant" replied Fry. The two men then left the room; Fry slammed the door behind him.

"Damn it Fry, don't be so heavy bloody-handed" shouted Grant as they left the section six barracks to the streets of Junon.

The time ticked by as the two soldiers waited impatiently on the dark streets of the slums.

"Christ, where the hell are Fry and Grant" cried the man in an angry voice. The other man looked at him and replied;

"Yeah, there always goddamn late".

In the distance, two men ran over to them. The large man dropping behind. Both men jogged over to where the soldiers stood.

"You're late again Grant. I tell ya, That partner of yours is letting you down" said the man. Grant caught his breath.

"Look where sorry about being late, but this by no meaning Fry's fault" panted Grant. The man laughed.

"Yeah well, I don't care whose fault it is. We've got family, and I want to spend as much time as I can with them, ya got me" said the man. Grant nodded with no reply. The two men left the streets.

"The bastard! He's not our boss, what gives him the right to boss us around like that. The bastard!" Cried Grant as the two men stepped on to the shinra transport van. 

"Yeah, yeah, you bastard" mimed Fry. Grant looked over and laughed shamefully at Fry.

"You have to copy everything I say don't you. Your just like a child" said Grant. 

The two men stood silently side by side. Within the silence, the sound of traffic and chatter from the slums of Midgar could be heard. Grant stood silent, carving his name in a piece of scrap metal he'd found on the streets. Fry stood tall, closing his eyes, still thinking of the farm, and the Chocobo's. Grant peeked round at Fry. He laughed.

"Huh, ya still thinking of that damn Chocobo's are you?" Said Grant. Fry didn't reply. He continued to daydream, the on his face grew larger. Fry laughed out loud.

"What's so funny" said Grant.

"Erm, nothing. I was just thinking about my chocobo" giggled Fry.

"Yeah, that's real funny. Ya bozo" Grant whispered under his breath. 

"One day, your gonna..." Grant was interrupted by a large bang. The explosion echoed through the slums of Midgar. Grant turned round to see nothing but houses shaking.

"Grant, Grant, what's going on" cried Fry.

"Nothing, I'm sure it nothing" panicked Grant as he tried to calm Fry down.

Just then, two shinra soldiers ran over to Grant and Fry. 

"What the hells going on" shouted Grant to the soldiers, trying to shout over the sound of the explosion.

"Its the reactor, its just blown up" shouted the soldier. All four men then ran over to the Train Bridge to get a sight of the reactor. Suddenly, a voice came on there radio.

"Calling all troops, please proceed to the train Station Bridge. It is a code 56" said a woman's voice.

"A code 56, what's that" shouted Grant.

"56,56" thought the soldier. 

"That's an armed and dangerous enemy on the louse" replied the soldier. All four men then readied their weapons and ran off towards the bridge.

"There he is. Get him" shouted the tall man dressed in a red instructor's uniform. Grant, Fry and the other two soldiers spotted the man and ran towards him. He was already surrounded and had only one way to escape.

"Come on. Lets block that ally way to the back of him, then he aint got nowhere to run" shouted Grant to Fry and the other soldiers. They ran to block the ally. The tall blond haired man stood hopeless and confused, he reached for his broad sword that he had tied to his back. And stood in a fighting stance.

"Grant, is someone going to get hurt" said Fry in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry Fry. The only one who's gonna get hurt is this crazy bastard. And remember Fry, Don't try to play hero, just leave the hard work to everyone else" replied Grant.

The small army of shinra soldiers were slowly closing in on the spiked haired man. He looked around, trying to find another way out.

"Just drop your weapon, and put your hands up, you hear me" said the instructor. The man looked around; there was nowhere to go. 

"Ok boys, grab him" shouted the instructor. The soldiers all charged forward to get the man. The noise of a running train echoed down the tunnel. The man then quickly turned around and leaped off the bridge and on to the passing train.

"Damn it, he's got away" shouted one of the shinra soldiers. The soldiers looked on as the train passed by.

"Damn, there goes this month's wages" joked Grant as he looked on at the moving train. 

Just then, Fry's eyes turned red in anger.

"He... he aint stopping me from getting my chocobo" shouted Fry as he ran towards the bridge. Grant looked at Fry in shock. 

"Fry no!" Shouted Grant as he attempted to grab Fry's bulging arm. Fry then leaped off the bridge and missed the edge of the train by inches.

"Noooooo" screamed Grant. Grant ran round the staircase to the bottom of the hill where Fry lay helplessly on the rail track.

"You... What did I tell you, Don't play hero" Said Grant angrily as he knelt down besides Fry. Grant leant over to feel Fry's pulse. Nothing.

"Damn it" screamed Grant. He stood up cautiously, he could feel his knee's turn to jelly. Behind Grants back, the other soldiers looked at each other in sorrow. One of the shinra soldiers walked up to him and tapped him on the back.

"It wasn't your fault man. Its been coming for ages. We always said that crazy bastard would do something stupid one day" he said. Grant turned round to the man, and although he felt angry for speaking of his best friend that way, he could do nothing but agree. The fact is, it was true. Grant knew it, and so did the other soldiers.

"Give me a hand will ya" said Grant. Both men bent down and picked up Fry's body, Then walked away into the dark and dusty streets of Midgar as if nothing had happened.

"When you're working for the shinra life never gets easier. Dreams never become reality for anyone living in a world run by the shinra" thought Grant as lay on his bunk. 

"The fact is, dreams never come true, however hard you try".

TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS STORY YOU MUST HAVE HAD TO PLAY THE GAME FINAL FANTASY 7. TO MAKE THIS STORY EASIER TO UNDERSTAND YOU MUST HAVE HAD TO HAVE READ THE BOOK "OF MICE AND MEN".


End file.
